Facts that you may not know.

Know who’s minding the children – How often have school buses been involved with serious accidents only to reveal the driver had some kind of negative history whether it be criminal or vehicular. Where children are involved, it should be mandatory to know the background of those people into whose care they are entrusted.

Hiring employees – As a matter of safety employers need to do background checks on all potential employees. A background check can also be a means of gaining insight into the character of the candidate.

Buying a business – It’s a good idea to consider looking into the background of the person selling the business before you sign. It is just as important to look into the background of the business itself. You will want to know something about the person you are dealing with and the reputation of the business you are buying in order to make sure the deal is legitimate. A little foresight to begin with can prevent problems down the road.

Investing – How often do people make huge investments with total strangers and live to regret it? The investment broker can seem very nice and very well informed and still take all your hard earned savings. Protect yourself and your investment by doing a background check first to find out if there are any issues of which you need to be aware.

Relationships – People are beginning to get more cautious about who they choose to spend the rest of their life with. Gone are the days of falling in love and getting married on a whim, especially among the more affluent. People want to know that their intended is trustworthy and honest, so more of them are doing background checks – just to be sure.

It flags past infractions that might impact an individual’s ability to perform a job.

In addition to criminal history, some background checks will highlight driving records, credit histories, or other information. True, there are times when a spotty driving record with numerous license suspensions, or a credit history fraught with missed payments and debt, will hold no bearing on an applicant’s ability to perform the job at hand. For positions that actually involve driving or the handling of money, though, such information is absolutely relevant.

Fortunately, background screening and criminal background checks are available to recruiters and human resources professionals. Employers today have the right to learn more about the candidates they are about to commit to a legal relationship with. They also have the right to ensure that a potential new hire does not have anything lurking in their past that could potentially harm the business or create a safety hazard for clients and other employees.

According to the most recent figures from by the Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistic Workplace Violence, 1993-2009,as many as 572,000 non-fatal crimes occurred in the American workplace in a single year. These figures are staggering considering a majority of the victims who’s assailants were other employees and acquaintances. Yet, in many of these cases, the violence could have been prevented simply by conducting background checks to determine if any potential new hires had criminal records or other factors that would create a dangerous work environment.